Express VPN review will come in handy if you are still in doubt to take this service or not. Express VPN has always been a popular service and don’t get me wrong, it’s popularity is well earned, from the development of the brand new lightway protocol to the new features and design changes, Express VPN is constantly in motion.
Here’s summary before we go into some detail:
| VPN REVIEW | PROS | CONS |
|---|---|---|
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-Media Streamer -Split Tunneling -Great Speed -Short time to Connect Server LIGHTWAY -Strong Privacy |
-Express VPN Allows 5 Devices, Some competitors offer 6 to 10 Devices Simlutaneously -Price |
Express VPN allows you to use it on five different devices simultaneously. That might not seem like a lot, especially in comparison to Surfshark VPN which has unlimited simultaneous connections, and PIA (10 devices) or NordVPN (6 devices) are so slightly ahead here but still five connections might be enough for one or two users. Express VPN also gets a great router app.
It simplifies the process of using VPN with your router immensely compared to the manual configuration. Believe me, that one requires quite some time. I can’t miss this one, Split tunneling. Once I learned about this feature with other VPNs, I kinda started looking for it in others as well and Express VPN offers it. So with split tunneling, you can choose websites or apps you want to use or not use with the VPN.
This is relevant when you want to stream foreign movies but surf the web with your local IP address or safely download torrents without slowing down other online activities. Express VPN also offers media streamer. Using this feature, you can use a VPN on TVs and devices that don’t usually support VPNs. For example, media streamer would allow you to use Express VPN for apple TV easily.
The feature also enable to android, a protection summary showing you how long you’ve been using VPN for and similar statistics. Not sure who that would be useful for. In my opinion, Express VPN has a set of important and well implemented features, I can’t stop myself from wishing it had even more, especially if we compare it with its other competitors, NordVPN, and Surfshark that offer additional value with their cybersec and cleanweb, double VPN and multihop or some other little perks like dark web monitor. Maybe we won’t have to wait long though.
Having a VPN is a must these days but I never want to sacrifice my internet performance for it, at least not significantly. Using Express VPN I haven’t noticed speed drops when browsing or streaming Netflix, just a bit of a lag during live sports streaming but switching a server closer to my location helped. Here’s the Express VPN speed test for you, starting with my baseline speed and here results for open VPN and lightway testing in multiple locations.
Lightway is indeed faster than the open VPN with speed dropping marginal in most locations except the most distant ones of course, but lightway speed is not its main strength.
According to the Express VPN team, lightway’s uniqueness is it’s time to connect. It takes lightway so little time to connect to the server that even switching servers will take you barely a second. Plus, let’s not forget that Express VPN has over 3000 servers, which is pretty average compared to most VPN leaders right now.
I don’t see an issue here. I already mentioned streaming. So, let me continue here.
I’ve tested Express VPN Netflix performance and also some different streaming platforms. I was able to unblock Netflix BBC iPlayer, Hulu and Disney Plus. You might get some issues with some of the servers, but let’s not give up here. All you need to do is switch to a different one and clear your cache and cookies, just in case.
While Express VPN, doesn’t really mention torrenting a lot, it allows P2P connection on all servers and even though it doesn’t have Socks5 proxy insight, I’ve still gotten good speeds with my downloads with only minor fluctuations from time to time.
Express VPN worked well with torrenting, it just isn’t focused on it enough to really stand out. However, if you need rock solid protection, look no further. Express VPN has the best the industry can offer, AES-256 encryption on all available protocols and of course, lightway tunneling protocol.
Instead of using wire guard, which they admitted was a great idea in development, they decided to develop their own tunneling protocol. Lightway is lightweight and lacks security concerns wireguard has.
It’s a plus for security. Seeing how Express VPN has received ioXt certification for security for their android app, they’re going in the right direction with this one.
On the privacy field, Express VPN is playing strong. Located in the privacy jurisdiction of the British Virgin islands, It has a trustworthy no logs policy. Not only did Express VPN go through multiple independent audits but even proved itself in court in 2017.
Furthermore, Express VPN uses RAM only servers that are unable to hold data for long and has an in-house bug bounty program. Those guys are taking their security seriously, no doubt of that I won’t comment much about the interface as I feel like this is very personal so let’s catch up briefly here.
Express VPN has its own design and colors that makes the app looked clean and most importantly, pretty intuitive, which is great for Express VPN.
How to use it? Easy. The Express VPN download process is simple on all platforms and takes almost no time to install it. Functionality among the apps is more or less similar. Windows and Mac apps look absolutely the same and have the same features while Linux only lacks split tunneling. On mobiles, android is once again ahead of iOS apps with split tunneling and the new protection summary feature, but, that’s the only difference between them.
In terms of customer support, Express VPN is one of the nicest I’ve met in the industry. The basic help database is fine but I mean the 24/7 live chat. I’ve had multiple discussions with them asking about features, information on lightway and an app download link so I can run Express VPN on Firestick, the older generation and each time I’ve gotten fast, precise and friendly responses.
Now let’s talk about price. When it comes to the Express VPN price, that’s a bit of a touchy subject. Even with the longest deal it offers, the price doesn’t get even close to the level other services can provide. If you’re wondering is Express VPN free to some extent? Sorry but no, the only thing close to a free trial is a 30 day money back guarantee which they offer.
Express VPN Review Final Verdict
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Express VPN is a really good virtual private network. On the levels of privacy and security, it’s as high up there as one could get.
It has outstanding performance and works very well with streaming and torrenting. There aren’t many VPNs that can rival Express VPN, but in some cases it does lose the competition.
If we take a look at Express VPN versus Surfshark or PIA Viper VPN, IPVanish, it loses heart in terms of price and for Express VPN versus Nord VPN, it didn’t bring enough extra features or performance to make a difference. Overall Express VPN deserves that place in the top VPN list.
